Energy ministers from the Group of Seven (G7) wealthy countries reached a deal to shut down their coal-fired power plants by 2035 at the latest, in a significant step towards the transition away from fossil fuels.
"We have an agreement to stop using coal in the first half of 2030's... it is an historical agreement," Britain's minister for Energy Security and Net Zero Andrew Bowie told Class CNBC according to a video posted on X.
Italian diplomatic sources said a technical deal had been reached.
The accord will be included in the G7 energy ministers' final communique to be released on April 30 at the end of a two-day meeting in Turin.
One source told Reuters earlier that diplomats from the G7 nations - Italy, the U.S., Britain, France, Germany, Canada and Japan - discussed the issue until late on April 28, before the start of the ministerial gathering.
The agreement marks a significant step in the direction indicated last year by the COP28 United Nations climate summit for a transition away from fossil fuels, of which coal is the most polluting.
"It helps accelerate the shift of investments from coal to clean technology in particular in Japan and more broadly in the whole Asian coal economy, including China and India," Luca Bergamaschi, co-founding member of Italian climate change think-tank ECCO, said on X.
Italy last year produced 4.7% of its total electricity through its six remaining coal-fired stations. Rome currently plans to turn off its plants by 2025, except on the island of Sardinia where the deadline is 2028.
In Germany and Japan coal has a bigger role, with the share of electricity produced by the fuel higher than 25% of total last year.
Last year under Japan's presidency, the G7 had pledged to prioritize concrete steps towards phasing out coal power generation, falling short of indicating a specific deadline.
Recommended Reading
US Orders Most Companies to Wind Down Operations in Venezuela by May
2024-04-17 - The U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control issued a new license related to Venezuela that gives companies until the end of May to wind down operations following a lack of progress on national elections.
US to Favor Existing Investors for Venezuela Oil Licenses, Say Sources
2024-05-16 - The U.S. is preparing to prioritize issuing limited licenses to operate in Venezuela to companies with existing oil production and assets over those seeking to enter the sanctioned OPEC nation for the first time.
US Decision on Venezuelan License to Dictate Production Flow
2024-04-05 - The outlook for Venezuela’s oil industry appears uncertain, Rystad Energy said April 4 in a research report, as a license issued by the U.S. Office of Assets Control (OFAC) is set to expire on April 18.
Repsol Eyes Increasing Core US Upstream Business
2024-02-29 - Madrid-based Repsol SA will invest €$2.2 billion (US$2.38 billion) between 2024-2027 on its unconventional assets in the Marcellus and Eagle Ford as it focuses on increasing its core U.S. upstream business platform.